Talk is cheap.

That's the standard mantra in the political world when lives hang in the balance. So in the days following the Christmas Day bombing attempt aboard a Northwest Airline flight to Detroit, it shouldn't surprise that those who talk about not confusing extremists with the entire Muslim faith have come under harsh criticism.

Martin Davis is director of the Congregational Resource Guide. Reach him at mdavis@alban.org.

Lost in the din of recrimination and finger-pointing, however, is a remarkable fact: since the terrorist attempt, Muslims in America have not faced the amount of backlash that they faced following the 9/11 event.

It's no fluke. December's thwarted attack occurred over the skies of Detroit—the epicenter of the American Muslim community. It's the also the epicenter for a dynamic and diverse interfaith dialogue effort. In a radio interview this week, the Reverend Daniel Buttry talked at length about the difference between how things have changed between September 11, 2001, and December 25, 2009.

Detroit is a city with the largest Arab-Muslim population in the world outside the Middle East and Paris. And prior to 9/11, Christians and Muslims were in interfaith dialogue. Immediately after the September 11 attack, the two sides met to discuss what happened, but a local Muslim business leader immediately pushed the group to take the discussion to a higher level.

"We can't just pray and sing," he said, and "give in to the violence of the terrorists or the fear-mongering that emerges in reaction to terrorism." And key to moving to the next level was widening the base of the discussion from just Muslims and Christians, to Jews and others in the Detroit faith community. Today, the discussion includes Sikhs, Baha'is, Hindus, and others.

Next came the process of reaching out beyond the circle. Following the Christmas Day attempt, the interfaith community not only could reach out to its members, but could reach out to the Detroit area as a whole through the contacts it has established with the media.

"It's all about relationships," Buttry said. That's the first, most important step. It's as simple, and as difficult, as that.

There are also a growing number of materials available to those who wish to become involved. Buttry's own two slim volumes—Interfaith Heroes and Interfaith Heroes 2—profile historical and current figures from a range of faith traditions who have made, and are making, a significant difference in inter-religious peace issues. They provide an easy way to both learn about leaders in unfamiliar faith traditions and raise the issue with members of your own congregation.

Beyond books, there are working groups that are models for action in other communities—including Building Bridges Through Books (described in this Read the Spirit article), Religious Diversity Journeys, and Reuniting the Children of Abraham.

Talk is cheap. Which is why it's the best tool available for curbing violence and creating peace. Talk creatively engaged, without fear, leads to life-changing and community-changing action. That's what Michigan's faith community has learned.

— Martin Davis, January 8, 2010